Field of the Disclosure
The present subject matter relates to multi-piece steering knuckles for steering assemblies of wheeled vehicles. More particularly, the present subject matter relates to a multi-piece steering knuckle having a tie rod arm with an integrated grease seal cap.
Description of Related Art
The use of steering knuckles for carrying wheel assemblies is a long-established practice for providing steerability to vehicle axles. Older steering knuckles were commonly single-piece cast items, which were relatively heavy.
To lower the weight of single-piece steering knuckles, fabricated steering knuckles were introduced. Such fabricated steering knuckles were comprised of two or more pieces that were individually formed (e.g., by forging, casting, machining, or the like) and then secured to each other to form the fabricated knuckle. FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary fabricated steering knuckle K of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,156, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The illustrated fabricated steering knuckle K has a first or upper piece U and a second or lower piece L, which are connected together by mechanical fasteners. The two pieces U and L define aligned kingpin bores (with only the upper kingpin bore B being visible), which receive a kingpin P. Each kingpin bore includes an associated grease seal cap, with the upper grease seal cap G receiving an upper end of the kingpin P and the lower grease seal cap C receiving a lower end of the kingpin P. A lubricant is injected into the grease seal caps G and C to lubricate the kingpin P. The lower piece L of the steering knuckle K includes an integrally formed tie rod arm T with a tie rod ball taper R that receives the end E of a tie rod arm A of the steering assembly.
Examples of other fabricated steering knuckles are described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,902,176 and 7,530,583, both of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.